Planning a trip to Greece and wondering where to start? Greece is one of the best countries to visit because you can’t go wrong. Whether you’re taking a Greece family vacation or traveling with friends, and whether you have 7 days in Greece or a month, this country won’t disappoint you.
I’ve spent months traveling all over Greece, so I certainly know the best way to plan a trip to the country. Greece has some quirks that make it a unique destination to plan your travels to, so read on for my top tips and tricks when planning a trip to Greece.
If you’re planning a group trip to Greece, be sure to head over to Troupe where you can simplify the travel planning. Let your crew vote on which island they want to visit, create an itinerary, share flight information, and even book your travels, all in one place.
The 7 steps to planning a trip to Greece are:
- Choose your travel crew
- Decide on a destination
- Pick travel dates
- Book your flights
- Book accommodations
- Figure out activities
- Pack your bags
Planning a trip to Greece
1. Choose your travel crew
Step one is simple enough when planning a trip to Greece. Simply gather your friends, family, grandparents, neighbors, or whoever you will be traveling with. Knowing your travel crew is important for all the following steps as you decide which destination is best for you, which accommodations make the most sense, and so on.
Once you’ve chosen your travel crew, invite them all to your Tripsite on Troupe so you can easily accomplish the rest of the travel planning without the hassle of back-and-forth emails/texts/etc.
Traveling solo? Amazing. Greece is also one of the best countries to enjoy on your own.
There is something for all types of trips in Greece. Thessaloniki is an incredible solo travel city while Santorini is pure romance and Crete makes a perfect family destination.
2. Decide on a Greek destination
This is one of my favorite parts of trip planning. You know you’re planning a trip to Greece, but where exactly do you want to visit? Maybe a romantic trip to Santorini or a visit to Crete full of hikes and wild beaches. Perhaps you’d rather do big city exploring in Athens or Thessaloniki.
And this is likely where you need some guidance if this is your first time traveling to Greece. That’s why I’ve narrowed it down to the top destinations based on your trip type.
Friend trip
- Corfu
- Skopelos
- Thessaloniki
Family trip
- Athens
- Crete
- Skiathos
Romantic getaway
- Thassos
- Antipaxos
- Symi
Solo travel
- Rhodes
- Thessaloniki
- Mykonos
3. Pick travel dates
Greece is absolutely gorgeous in the summer but most of the popular tourist spots are also incredibly crowded. When planning a trip to Greece, you should strongly consider visiting in the shoulder season. This is when prices are cheaper, destinations are less crowded, and the weather is still pleasant.
The best time to travel to Greece is:
- April-June or September-October
4. Book flights to Greece
This is where the Greek vacation planning gets real. Booking flights is the “no turning back” moment when planning a trip which is when you can start getting truly excited about your adventure.
Booking flights to Greece, especially to the islands, can be a bit tricky. Luckily, these tips and tricks will help save you time and money.
Tips and tricks for booking Greece flights:
- Don’t head straight to the islands from the United States. Look at flights into either Thessaloniki or Athens. Spend a night or two in one of these incredible cities on either end of your vacation.
- Use Skyscanner to set a Price Alert notification for your route. They’ll notify you via push notification or email when prices drop.
- Use Google Flights on their map view. This way, you can scroll around all of Greece to see which arrival airports have the cheapest flights from your departure airport. Who knows, a Greek city you’d never even heard of might have your cheapest flights.
5. Choose accommodations
This is the part of your Greece trip planning where you get to decide where to stay. Whether you landed on Santorini or Athens as your destination (or both), Greece has plenty to offer when it comes to hotels, bed and breakfasts, Vrbos, and the like.
Decide what makes the most sense for you based on all the contributing factors.
Some things to consider when choosing Greece accommodations include:
- How many people you’re traveling with
- Stay as a big group in one house or have personal space in individual hotel rooms
- Would you like a kitchen to cook some meals in (helpful with small children)
- Where you’d prefer to be located (city center vs. oceanfront etc.)
Discover more about whether a hotel vs. Airbnb is right for you.
6. Decide on some activities
There are plenty of fun things to do on vacation in Greece, and choosing activities is often one of the best parts of Greece trip planning.
One of my favorite ways to use Troupe is to keep all activity suggestions in one place, so when it comes time to make your own itinerary, you can easily scroll through all the ideas.
Depending on where you decide to visit in Greece, some of my favorite activity ideas include:
- Take a Greek cooking class
- Go snorkeling or scuba diving
- Take a hike
- Aimlessly wandering through the towns
- Visit museums
- Rent bikes and go for a leisurely cycle
- Take a boat tour
7. Pack your bags for Greece
Packing for Greece is actually pretty simple. Whether you’re traveling during shoulder season or summer, you’ll likely pack similarly, with a few extra sweaters and pairs of pants for the shoulder season.
Here’s a sample packing list for a 7-day Greece trip in April-October:
- 4 pairs of shorts
- 4 pairs of pants
- 5 tee shirts
- 5 tank tops
- 3 sweaters
- 2 pairs of pants
- 2-3 dresses (women)
- 2 pairs of sandals
- 1 pair of sneakers
- a few pairs of socks
- 10 pairs of underwear
- 3 bathing suits
Ready to start packing for your trip to Greece? Let us help: